Aircraft

History Channel – Starting in the 1930′s, Japanese aircraft designers made incredible strides, and by the time hostilities broke out, the Imperial Air Force had some of the most sophisticated and effective planes in the world. SECRET JAPANESE AIRCRAFT OF WORLD WAR II traces the development of the Japanese industry and its famous creations, like the Nakajima Ki-43 Oscar and the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. But the program also exposes the frantic, top-secret programs to produce weapons that would have made these legendary planes seem tame by comparison. With the help of some of the world’s foremost aviation historians, HISTORY UNDERCOVER® reveals how, at the end of the war, Japan was close to unveiling a new generation of rocket and jet-powered planes that could have turned the tide of the conflict.Video Rating: 5 / 5

The Abrams Explorer is a unique aircraft specifically designed for aerial survey and mapping functions. Built in 1937, the aircraft was designed by Kenneth Ronan, former chief designer for Stinson, and Edward Kunzl, also of Stinson. Dr. Talbert Abrams, founder and CEO of the then newly-formed Abrams Air Craft Corporation and the established Abrams Aerial Survey Corporation of Lansing, Michigan, envisioned the aircraft as an obstruction-free camera platform for survey and mapping businesses, a design in which the US Army showed interest. The initial requirement was to provide the capability for aerial photography, aerial survey, and mapping from near sea level up to an operating altitude of 20000 feet. It was to provide an unobstructed field of view for the several cameras which meant displacing the usual struts, wing panels, engine cowls, and propeller arc away from the cameraman’s normal line of sight. The aircraft was to have an endurance of at least eight hours, climb quickly to altitude, and cruise at a speed of 180 to 200 knots. The resulting configuration was a specially designed two-place non-conventional mid-wing pusher monoplane which had twin booms extending back from the wing trailing edge to support the tail assembly. The-two place crew nacelle was located entirely forward of the wing leading edge and included clear safety glass windows over most of area above the cockpit floor. This is similar to the bombardier’s nose section of a World War II medium bomber …Video Rating: 4 / 5

Subscribe to excellent World War II videos The Battle of Okinawa started in April 1945. The capture of Okinawa was part of a three-point plan the Americans had for winning the war in the Far East. Okinawa was to prove a bloody battle even by the standards of the war in the Far East but it was to be one of the major battles of World War Two. Alongside, the territorial re-conquest of land in the Far East, the Americans wished to destroy what was left of Japan?s merchant fleet and use airstrips in the region to launch bombing raids on Japan?s industrial heartland. Okinawa is the largest of the Ryukyus islands at the southern tip of Japan. Okinawa is about 60 miles long and between 2 and 18 miles wide. Its strategic importance could not be underestimated ? there were four airfields on the island that America needed to control. America also faced the problem that they had not been able to get much intelligence information about Okinawa. The Americans estimated that there were about 65000 Japanese troops on the island ? with the bulk in the southern sector of the island. In fact, there were over 130000 Japanese troops on the island with more than 450000 civilians. The Japanese troops on the island were commanded by Lieutenant- General Ushijima who had been ordered to hold onto the island at all costs. Ushijima decided on his tactics ? he would concentrate his forces in the southern sector of the island and station his men in a series of secure fortifications. If the Americans …Video Rating: 4 / 5

See how the Stealth bomber was influenced by top-secret plans for a plane designed to drop a nuclear bomb on America. During World War II, German engineers and scientists helped create the most technologically advanced air force the world had ever seen. But even more incredible were the planes they didn’t have time to build. SECRET LUFTWAFFE AIRCRAFT OF WWII makes a strong case that, had the war lasted much longer, Nazi aviation breakthroughs might have led to a different outcome. See captured, formerly top-secret plans for jet fighters, vertical take off and landing craft, swept-wing planes and much more. But most shocking of all was the Horton 18–a long-range bomber intended to drop a nuclear device on America. The decades-old plans for the Horton were invaluable in the development of the American Stealth aircraft! Filled with expert interviews, archival footage and computer creations of these groundbreaking planes in flight, this is a fascinating look at some of the most innovative weapons of all time, the SECRET LUFTWAFFE AIRCRAFT OF WWII.

Made from real slides form WWII. Included is great nose art on B-17′s(flying fortress) and B-29′s. Art of gals, dogs, cats, and more. Plus shots of other planes, Hiller helicopters and concept aircraft. Aircraft models such as the SST and 727 airliners. Photos of the Blackbird SR-71, Hustler B-58 bomber, XB-70 Valkyrie and more. Thank you!Video Rating: 4 / 5

History Channel – Before the onset of World War II, Germany’s planes were far superior to those of the US and the UK. This program explores how the scientists and engineers improved on technology and helped to defeat Nazi Germany. Using specially commissioned computer graphics, previously unseen archive footage and interviews with aviation experts, this program brings back to life the Secret Allied planes of the Second World War.

I just can’t get enough of this aircraft, the only operational, original WWII Japanese aircraft in the world today ! This is the ONLY WWII Japanese aircraft that is flyable today with an original Japanese WWII engine, the Mitsubishi Sakae 14-cylinder, Model 31 “Prosperity”. A very, very unique and historic sound ! This is the sound of history and it is very likely that this is the ONLY original WWII Japanese aircraft engine that any of us will ever to be able to hear in person. Of course, this A6M5 Zero is owned by the Planes of Fame Museum located in Chino, California. In the late 1970s, this aircraft was restored to flying staus. The engine was restored by the Stewart-Davis Company in Long Beach, California. Stewart-Davis (no longer in business) had a very good reputation for rebuilding radial engines and, according to Ed Maloney (the founder of the Planes of Fame Museum), Stewart-Davis took on the challenge of rebuilding this essentially one-of-a-kind engine and delivered a zero-time powerplant with no issues at all. Over 30 years later, this engine (on the original rebuild) is still going strong. This aircraft was built by Nakajima under license from Mitsubishi in May 1943 and was later captured by US Marines on Saipan in June 1944. It was then shipped to Patuxent River, Maryland in the US for evaluation. About 190 hours of flight time were logged during this evaluation, including some hours by Charles Lindbergh himself. After being declared surplus following the war …